By Don Cogger
Gazette Sports Editor
The Kemmerer High School girls’ swimming and diving team capped off a busy week with a second-place finish at Saturday’s Evanston Invitational, winning two events, and finishing runners-up in a handful of others.
“Overall, we are progressing well,” said KHS head coach Amanda Aimone. “We are a little tired, but the girls are fighting through that and learning that they can do great things while they are tired.”
The 200 medley relay team of Ally Bartschi, Charlie Boylen, Logan Rogers and Kalyn Lockwood got the meet started on a winning note, finishing in the top spot with a time of 2:03.28.
After Top 5 finishes in the 200 freestyle (5th, 2:28.81) and the 200 individual medley (4th, 2:45.99) by Ally Bartsch and Demi Thatcher, Boylen swam to a 3rd-place finish in the 50 freestyle (27.31), joined in the top 10 by Lockwood (5th, 29.02) and Emileen Dearden (7th, 29.45).
Lady Ranger senior Hanna Walker finished runner-up in the 11-dive event, posting a score of 395.70; teammates Lockwood (5th, 287.25) and Gabby Bartschi (7th, 259.70) also did well, with Bartschi qualifying for the 3A State Meet in November.
“Our divers are right where they need to be,” Aimone said. “Gabby qualified in 11 dives over the weekend, and before that she had only been qualified in six dives. That is a great accomplishment for her. All the divers are working on new dives, and refining old ones. I saw one of the best inwards form Hanna that I have ever seen, and Kalyn gets so much height in her dives that a lot of divers cannot match. Coach Willoughby has them right where they need to be.”
Freshman phenom Logan Rogers picked up the Lady Rangers’ lone individual win of the meet in the 100 butterfly, posting a time of 1:06.66; Rogers and fellow freshman Boyles finished 2-3 in the 100 breaststroke, as well. Aimone said she is pleased with the growth shown by these two, who are consistently at the top of the leaderboard.
“I am not surprised at these two,” she said. “They come in with a lot of swimming behind them, so what they have been able to accomplish is awesome. The high school season is a little bit different than what they are used to, but I must say they are handling it very well.”
Ally Bartschi, Payton Scherr and Demi Thatcher also had solid weekends in the pool, and Aimone is equally excited for their futures.
“Ally Bartschi, Payton Scherr and Demi Thatcher all had a great week of swims,” Aimone said. “Payton qualified in the 200 free in Pinedale, and Demi won the 50 free there, as well. All three athletes are close to getting at least two more events under their belt for the state meet — Ally in the 200 and Demi and Payton in the 200 IM and 100 free. Emileen Dearden also had good swims in the 50 free and 100 backstroke. She keeps chopping away at her times, and is getting closer. Eva Hunter also swam a 100 freestyle that we all knew she could do. She cut four seconds from her original time in Evanston.”
The Lady Rangers have another busy week ahead,
with a home meet Wednesday, followed by a meet Saturday in Pinedale.
Evanston Invitational
Team Scores
1. Riverton 327, 2. Kemmerer 257, 3. Evanston 217, 4. Green River 128.5, 5. Sublette County 109, 6. Lyman 106, 7. Rock Springs 68.5
200 Medley Relay
1. Ally Bartschi, Charlie Boylen, Logan Rogers, Kalyn Lockwood 2:03.28, 7. Eva Hunter, Jette Bischoff, Gabby Bartschi, Emileen Dearden 2:26.39, 15. Hanna Walker, Arya Newell, Emma Culler, Haleigh Stiles 2:58.18
200 Freestyle
5. Ally Bartschi 2:28.81, 19. Emma Culler 3:08.69
200 IM
4. Demi Thatcher 2:45.99, 5. Payton Scherr 2:49.58, 8. Arya Newell 3:00.84
50 Freestyle
3. Charlie Boylen 27.31, 5. Kalyn Lockwood 29.02, 7. Emileen Dearden 29.45, 18. Eva Hunter 31.50, 21. Jette Bischoff 32.30, 40. Haleigh Stiles 48.31
Girls 1 Mtr Diving
2. Hanna Walker 395.70, 5. Kalyn Lockwood 287.25, 7. Gabby Bartschi 259.70
100 Butterfly
1. Logan Rogers 1:06.66, 8. Emileen Dearden 1:31.83
100 Freestyle
7. Demi Thatcher 1:05.11, 8. Payton Scherr 1:05.31, 18. Eva Hunter 1:11. 42
500 Freestyle
15. Jette Bischoff 8:02.42
200 Freestyle Relay
4. Demi Thatcher, Payton Scherr, Gabby Bartschi, Kalyn Lockwood 1:58.19, 9. Hanna Walker, Arya Newell, Eva Hunter, Emileen Dearden 2:10.61
100 Backstroke
4. Gabby Bartschi 1:16.93, 6. Arya Newell 1:19.35, 10. Hanna Walker 1:25.02, 15. Emma Culler 1:33.88
100 Breaststroke
2. Logan Rogers 1:13.28, 3. Charlie Boylen 1:14.56, 12. Ally Bartschi 1:26.07
400 Freestyle Relay
2. Payton Scherr, Demi Thatcher, Charlie Boylen, Logan Rogers 4:19.74, 5. Ally Bartschi, Jette Bischoff, Emma Culler, Haleigh Stiles 5:35.61
